Publication Items

EPA To Propose Plan Soon for First PFAS Drinking Water Rule [1]

Plans are nearing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate PFAS in drinking water — and the complexity around the effort will challenge environmental journalism. In the mix are questions of environmental persistence and health risks, plus thorny politics. Our Issue Backgrounder has guidance on these and more as PFAS regulation hits this critical juncture.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Policy [12]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Water & Oceans [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [17]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about EPA To Propose Plan Soon for First PFAS Drinking Water Rule [1]
ESA Inaction Spells Trouble for an Iconic Grassland Bird [19]

The lesser prairie-chicken is in dire need of protection, but a decision on listing it under the Endangered Species Act is months overdue. Environmental reporter Mike Smith looks at the causes and potential consequences of the bureaucratic delay and muses on whether this unique bird will go the way of its even more imperiled relative, the Attwater’s prairie-chicken [20].

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Agriculture [23]
Biodiversity [24]
Economy & Business [5]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [12]
Science [14]
Wildlife [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [28]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [29]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [30]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [31]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about ESA Inaction Spells Trouble for an Iconic Grassland Bird [19]
Could Biodiversity Be Bee’s Knees for Environmental Journalists This Fall? [32]

While a global gathering on biodiversity this winter will be news in itself, enterprising reporters can also find many biodiversity stories in their own backyards. The latest TipSheet offers insight into the domestic U.S. battle over endangered species, with a tale of a Tennessee dam, and a better understanding of the biodiversity-habitat connection. Plus, story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Biodiversity [24]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Forests [35]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [12]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [30]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Could Biodiversity Be Bee’s Knees for Environmental Journalists This Fall? [32]
Climate Censorship, Part II, Courtesy Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board [37]

A new quarrel over climate reporting, prompted by an editorial charging “censorship,” has the WatchDog troubled by the difficulty of finding a path for transparency. The latest WatchDog Opinion takes a look at the dispute, how online platforms like Twitter fit in and the limits of the laws on disinformation in the United States and Europe, all as part of an effort to chart a path forward for journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Climate Change [39]
Environmental Politics [7]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [36]
Europe [40]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Climate Censorship, Part II, Courtesy Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board [37]
Sleuths Tap Obscure Toxics Database To ID Loophole on PFAS [41]

Data specialists working with two databases, one familiar and one little-known, have uncovered how companies may be able to hide releases of the family of toxic PFAS chemicals. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox details the data revelation and explores how journalists may make use of the Chemical Data Reporting service’s datasets for their own stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Chemicals [3]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Pollution [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Sleuths Tap Obscure Toxics Database To ID Loophole on PFAS [41]
Lead Ammo and Tackle, Decades Later, Still Fought Over by Big Guns [43]

Lead kills. With hunting and fishing seasons underway, lead ammo and tackle put a known neurotoxin into the ecosystem. And that renews a long-standing controversy, with a tug of war over rules limiting lead at the local and federal levels. The latest TipSheet examines why it matters to vulnerable species, like the bald eagle, as well as to humans. Plus, local story ideas and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Pollution [13]
Wildlife [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Lead Ammo and Tackle, Decades Later, Still Fought Over by Big Guns [43]
On the Persistence of Ocean Plastics [44]

Concerns about seaborne plastic waste go back decades, but science writer Juli Berwald suggests that myths and disinformation about sources and solutions continue to cloud the waters. From lentil-sized nurdles to sprawling fishing nets, 200 million tons of plastic now fill the ocean and, for her, it has become evident that the ocean plastics story is really a land story. But will the newly signed international treaty on plastics offer relief?

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Biodiversity [24]
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [39]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [5]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Studies [45]
Fish & Fisheries [34]
Government [8]
Infrastructure [46]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [12]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Technology [47]
Waste [48]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Alaska and Hawaii [49]
California [50]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [17]
Northwest (OR WA) [51]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [30]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [31]
International [36]
Mexico [52]
Africa [53]
Asia [54]
Europe [40]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about On the Persistence of Ocean Plastics [44]
Air Conditioner HFCs Are on the Way Out — The Kigali Amendment Explained [55]

For the first time in years, the United States has ratified a climate change-related treaty — one that phases out HFCs, the greenhouse gas widely used as a refrigerant. That leaves environmental reporters to report how the change will affect everyday objects like ACs, refrigerators and cars. TipSheet has the backstory on the Kigali Amendment, along with story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [33]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Climate Change [39]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Policy [12]
Pollution [13]
Technology [47]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
International [36]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Air Conditioner HFCs Are on the Way Out — The Kigali Amendment Explained [55]
Will Congress Pass Manchin’s Energy Permitting 'Side Deal'? [56]

In the fine print of the historic Biden climate bill is a controversial commitment to pass legislation on fossil fuel permitting, a measure deeply opposed by the environmental community and calling for heavy political muscle to move through Congress this month. Issue Backgrounder details what’s in it, and what’s not, and takes the measure of the measure’s prospects.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Climate Change [39]
Energy & Fuel [25]
Environmental Justice [57]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [8]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [26]
Policy [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Will Congress Pass Manchin’s Energy Permitting 'Side Deal'? [56]
Fill Your Plate With Chicken Stories [58]

Chicken production in the United States is a colossal industry controlled by a few vertically integrated companies. On a much smaller scale, it’s also heritage breeds and increasingly popular backyard flocks. As the latest avian flu outbreak makes headlines, journalist Christine Heinrichs looks at environmental reporting opportunities related to poultry pathogens, pollution and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [23]
Biodiversity [24]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Food [59]
Government [8]
Health [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Policy [12]
Pollution [13]
Science [14]
Waste [48]
Water & Oceans [15]
Wildlife [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [16]
California [50]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [28]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [60]
Visibility:
Public [18]
- Read more about Fill Your Plate With Chicken Stories [58]

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